Grass trimmers using a rotating segment of flexible line or blade assembly to trim weeds, grass and other vegetation are well-known. Typically, grass trimmers include a handle, a motor, an elongated shaft and a lower housing unit from which the trimming element extends and rotates to cut grass, weeds, and other vegetation. The motor may be mounted in the lower housing of the grass trimmer or it may be mounted at the opposite end of the elongated tube (near the operator) depending on the style of the trimmer. Furthermore, the grass trimmers may be powered by combustible fuel engines, as well as electric motors. The versions driven by electric motors may be connected to a line source such as 120 volt alternating current electric power, or they may be powered by a battery pack or other source of direct current electrical power.
Many grass trimmers include a trimmer shield designed to deflect debris travelling rearwardly away from the housing towards the ground or to the sides of the trimmer housing. When used in connection with flexible line trimmers, the shields may also include a cutting element such as a blade to automatically trim the cutting line to the proper length for rotation within the trimmer shield.
The trimmer shields are commonly attached to the housings either permanently, i.e., at manufacturing, or are designed for attachment to the housing by a purchaser of the unit using screws or other mechanical fasteners provided with the grass trimmer. Disadvantages of purchaser-assembled trimmer shields include the need to ensure that the proper fasteners are located within the package with the grass trimmer, the requirement that the purchaser have access to the appropriate tool or tools required for the fasteners, the need for the purchaser to be adept at operating or handling the tools required to attach the trimmer shield to the housing.